UB Freethinkers

“Freedom of thought is the only good that is perhaps more precious than peace, for the simple reason that, without it, peace would merely be another name of servitude.”

-André Comte-Sponville

Freethought is the name of an intellectual and cultural movement whose roots lie in the writings of the atomist and stoic philosophers of ancient Greece and Rome, the philosophers of the Age of Reason and the French and German Enlightenment, the founders of the United States of America, and the secular populists of the 19th century (Courtesy: CFI On Campus).  In contemporary decades, the movement has included thousands of scientists, philosophers, artists, and literary figures dedicated to the liberty of human thought and conscience.

Freethought itself is the philosophical viewpoint that beliefs should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and evidence — and not be influenced by emotion, authority, tradition, “revealed” wisdom, religious scripture, or any dogma — be it religious or secular. It holds that individuals should neither accept nor reject ideas proposed as truth without recourse to scientific knowledge and the powerful human ability to reason.

Thus, freethinkers strive to build their beliefs on the basis of facts, scientific inquiry, and logical principles independent of any factual or logical fallacies. In the quest of an endlessly curious humankind to further our knowledge of our planet and indeed our universe, freethinkers sternly repudiate and steadfastly reject the intellectually limiting effects of unquestionable religious and secular authority (so often the same), cognitive bias, “conventional wisdom”, popular culture, prejudice, sectarianism, tradition, myth, urban legend, pseudoscience, and all other dogmatic or otherwise fallacious principles.

As such, when applied to religion, the philosophy of freethought leads one to accept that, given presently known facts, established scientific theories, and logical principles, there is entirely no evidence to support the existence of any supernatural phenomena — be it miracles, effective prayer, angels, spirits, revelation, faith healing, resurrections, an afterlife, etc. — including any and all gods or other “divine” or “holy” beings. Because of this, many freethinkers also embrace many of the synonymous titles of atheist, agnostic, secularist, skeptic, humanist, secular humanist, non-religious, non-theist, non-believer, and many others.

A line from “Clifford’s Credo” by the 19th century British mathematician and philosopher William Kingdon Clifford perhaps best describes the premise of freethought:

“It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.”

To deny the vital need for evidence to support one’s beliefs means that absolutely any and every proposition and claim could be accepted as true.  Objective scientific knowledge would become impossible.  When that occurs, individuals are vulnerable to the vast multitude of unproven superstitions, myths, and dogmas all-too-often preached by self-serving and authoritarian organizations, hierarchies, and governments.  Any semblance of scientific knowledge is undermined and human beings are then manipulated, used, and misled for the profit and power of others.

Since many laws, doctrines, and popular beliefs are based on those various dogmas and not on any sort of empirical evidence – and likewise are often supported by large and influential groups – freethinkers’ opinions are frequently at odds with commonly held established views (Courtesy: Wikipedia).

The symbol of freethought: The Pansy

The Pansy is the long-established and enduring symbol of freethought, its usage inaugurated in the literature of the English National Secular Society and it’s spiritual successor, the American Secular Union in the late 1800s.  The reasoning behind the Pansy being the symbol of freethought lies in both the flower’s name and appearance.  The Pansy derives its name from the French word pensée, which means “thought.”  It was so named because the flower resembles a human face, and in the month of August it nods forward as if deep in thought.  (Courtesy: Wikipedia)